USA: rape case unfolds on the Internet

A rape case in America unfolds on the internet. An online campaign saves a bear from being put to sleep. And the most pirated movies of 2012.

USA: rape case unfolds on the Internet

The most talked about scandals often erupt in quiet seemingly uneventful little towns… residents of Steubenville in Ohio can testify to this. Two football players from the ‘Big Red’ High school football team have been accused of raping a 16 year old girl at a party.

The teenage girl was drunk and can’t remember much from that night, but other students at the party posted videos to YouTube and tweeted about her deteriorating intoxicated state. One post read “song of the night is definitely Rape Me by Nirvana”… Other party goers even posted a photo on Instagram showing three male students carrying off the unconscious girl…

Her parents handed over all this evidence to the police, but as three days had passed since the party it was too late to gather credible forensic evidence of rape. One disgusted blogger posted the photos and potentially incriminating tweets online, accusing the police and town officials or trying to stifle the story to protect the Big Red’s star players.

And so the once calm little town of Steubenville is split in two: with some residents supporting the two players and others demanding they be brought to justice, calling for a fuller enquiry. They have taken the campaign to Twitter, condemning the high school football team, some even describing the players as dangerous.

And now hacktivist group Anonymous has got involved… the group of anonymous cyber activists launched operation "OpRedRoll", set up a hashtag under the same name on Twitter and went on to attack the Big Red football team’s official website. The group wants the players concerned to issue a public apology to the girl.

Meatball the bear saved by online campaign

This 250 kg black bear became a celebrity in California back in March … countless residents have posted videos and photos of him online, wandering through the streets of Glendale, cooling down in private swimming pools in the Los Angeles suburb, and eating what he could find in bins, which is how he got his nickname “Meatball”.

And although many Californians warmed to the bear, others felt he was a danger to the public. But the people of Glendale were not going to allow the authorities to put their new mascot to sleep, and joined one local in her online campaign to raise awareness and save Meatball’s life … she had set up a Twitter account for Meatball, taking on his online persona … the account now has over 28,000 followers.

And so Sarah Aujero decided to raise money to give the bear a home and started producing and selling Meatball paraphernalia. She even capitalized on the festive season and made Christmas tree ornaments featuring her favourite bear…

And the fundraising was a great success, Meatball’s fans donated over 120,000 dollars, enough to pay for his new home … Sarah Aujero has been posting photos of it on Twitter, he will soon be going to live near to San Diego at a wild animal sanctuary. He will live in a 6 hectare enclosure, a cozy new home he will share with another male and three females…

The most pirated movies of 2012

According to a study published on specialist site « Torrent Freak » the most pirated movie of 2012 was “Project X” with over 8,72 million illegal downloads. Next comes the latest Mission Impossible film, “Ghost protocol” starring Tom Cruise which was downloaded 8,5 million times, and then taking home bronze the last movie in the Batman saga “The Dark Knight rises” which was pirated by 8,23 million web users.

Geometric retro movie posters

Ale Giorgini gives his own distinct twist to well-known movie posters… the artist’s Facebook page features colourful, minimalist and geometric versions of these classic posters … from The Blues Brothers to the Goonies, as well as back to the Future and Star Wars, the Italian artist gives them a veritable new lease of life.

Video of the day

This video features four Italian mums keen to show their children it’s time to leave the nest. Carla, Ana Flora, Gisella and Benedetta have started their own group called the Smammas, and this is their first track in which they tell their little treasures it’s time to get a job, cut the apron strings and became independent…